October 23, 2009

Balconies & Terraces



     If you want to make it in this town, you had better get your balcony in order. As most Romans live in apartments, it is quite fashionable to outfit your limited 'outside space' to the max.  You can do-it-yourself (fai da te) or you can hire your local florist to style your space with local fauna.  For the truly budget-conscious (this is where I come in), there are several flower stalls in local markets (especially in Testaccio & Garbatella) and local flower-prenuers (ugh) who tool around town in mini-trucks that look like this...


     Another major consideration is the unforgiving Roman sunshine that will fry your daisies in a matter of days if left unchecked. Hence, the Mojave desert-like appearance of our balcony when I arrived on the scene. I’m not sure what the purple plant is (it does have cute pink flowers that open in the morning) but I thought we might branch out a bit from succulent-land, so I started: Project Balcony.

     I hit the markets and received lots of advice from Mohammed who runs a stall at the Testaccio market about what flowers work well in the sun and he offered his balcony-styling services at a reasonable cost. I decided to go it on my own (read: I’m broke) and bought a variety of flowers & plants; figuring at least one or two of them would survive. Well, let me tell you, there is good reason that our hearty desert friends have made it this far on the terrible balcony- everything I bought has either withered away under intense sunshine or been soaked-under by the latest rains (..somewhere Mohammed weeps). I did manage to keep a few plants alive and we are now awash in purples & pinks…


…which I was quite happy about, until I came home one afternoon and saw a woman on our neighboring terrace erecting a green wonderland (with hired gardener in tow) in the span of three hours. All I have to say is...those small pink flowers are doomed my dear!
I might throw my hat back into another balcony-revamp, but for the time being, I am content to have a few survivors and am trying not to let my green thumb get out of control. There’s many a wayward gardener in this city: